text: Previous work from MUSE includes the detection of endogenous fluorescent molecules in intact clinical and human tissues for functional and structural characterization, which is limited by the relatively dim autofluorescence found in tissue. However, the use of bright exogenous dyes can provide substantially more remitted light than the autofluorescence approach.
  Several dyes have been studied for MUSE's application, including eosin, rhodamine, DAPI, Hoechst, acridine orange, propidium iodide, and proflavine. Eosin and rhodamine stain the cytoplasm and the extracellular matrix, making the bulk of the tissue visible. Hoechst and DAPI fluoresce brightly when bound to DNA, allowing them to serve as excellent nuclear stains.